VZCZCXRO0073
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0261/01 0311930
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 311930Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1509
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2019 
TAGS: IZ PGOV PINR PREL SOCI
SUBJECT: POLLS CLOSE AFTER A PEACEFUL DAY OF VOTING IN IRAQ 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 0260 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  Iraq remained relatively peaceful as 
millions of Iraqis went to the polls on January 31 to elect 
new provincial councils.  Polls closed throughout the country 
at 1800 after eleven hours of voting, with a one-hour 
extension authorized late in the day.  Embassy received 
isolated reports of violence, intimidation of voters, and 
fraud.  There were a number of reports of voters being turned 
away because their names did not appear on voter lists, a 
problem IHEC will have to investigate.  Preliminary results 
are expected by 5 February.  Certified results are expected 
to be announced by the Independent High Electoral Commission 
(IHEC) by 23 February.  End summary. 
 
Turnout 
------- 
 
¶2.  (C)  Turnout continued to be heavy in many polling 
stations throughout the day, prompting the IHEC to extend 
voting for one hour, until 1800 local.  The International 
Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) a USAID contractor 
acting as technical consultant to the IHEC, estimates turnout 
to be 55-60 percent nationwide.  The United Nations 
Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) was reluctant to estimate 
turnout, pointing out that official numbers are expected from 
the IHEC on the morning of 1 February. 
 
Security 
-------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), following plans 
developed in partnership with the Multi-National Force Iraq 
(MNF-I), provided tight security at all polling sites, and 
throughout Iraq.  Isolated incidents of violence were 
reported in Salah ad Din, Ninewa, and Diyala (reftel), but 
they did not appear to reach a level that would impact the 
outcome of the elections.  IHEC staff at polling centers 
maintained control at the entrance to polling centers. 
Several observer teams were denied entrance at polling 
centers as local staff misinterpreted the ban on armed guards 
entering (Comment: Post feels that these incidents were 
simple misinterpretations of the regulations as the IHEC had 
issued specific letters permitting one armed security detail 
to enter with credentialed international observers. 
Exclusions did not follow any pattern, and teams were able to 
move on to a secondary site without hindrance.  End comment). 
 PRT Erbil reported that a team claiming to be PUK observers 
was turned away as they had no credentials.  One man was 
arrested in Najaf for spreading the rumor that Americans were 
inside polling stations and influencing the vote, and Maysan 
PRT reported that an IP Lt. Colonel was arrested for 
allegedly trying to influence voters to choose his candidate 
wife. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Diyala PRT reported that many Sunni voters were 
turned away from polling centers in Baquba and Khalis.  It is 
unclear as to whether these voters were attempting to vote at 
the designated polling centers for internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) or at regular polling centers for residents of 
Diyala.  The PRT also reported that at one polling center in 
Muqdadiya the Iraqi Police were attempting to take ballot 
boxes away after the polls closed.  IHEC regulations state 
that ballots are to remain at the polling center and be 
counted there.  These reports have been relayed to UNAMI, and 
the PRT will track IHEC's response. 
 
Logistics/Mechanics 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C)  Glitches in voting procedures that arose earlier 
appear to have been resolved as the IHEC responded to 
situations (Reftel).  In many governorates, observers heard 
complaints of significant numbers of individuals being denied 
entry at the polls.  The majority of these refusals were 
because the intending voter's name did not appear on the 
Qbecause the intending voter's name did not appear on the 
register of voters.  In Fallujah an observation team met an 
angry crowd that claimed that "hundreds" of voters had been 
turned away due to their names not being on the registry 
list.  One polling center in Tikrit turned away 200-250 
voters, 30 percent of their potential pool of voters.  In 
Wasit an IHEC staff member complained that the voter list was 
not accurate and did not include many names, and in Karbala a 
UNAMI representative reported that as many as 4,000 voters 
had been turned away.  (Comment:  It is unclear as to whether 
these exclusions were part of an orchestrated strategy, poor 
book keeping by the IHEC, or a lack of participation in the 
voter registry update exercise carried out in August 2008. 
The first possibility seems the least likely given the lack 
of a pattern.  End comment). 
 
Results 
------- 
 
BAGHDAD 00000261  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Vote counting began in each polling center 
immediately after the polls closed.  Domestic election 
observers and political party agents are credentialed to 
witness the count.  Counting is expected to take hours, after 
which tally sheets will be transported to the central 
Governorate Electoral Office (GEO).  Once the GEO has 100 
percent of the tally sheets for the governorate the sheets 
will be transported to a tally center located at the IHEC 
headquarters in Baghdad.  Counting of the tally sheets will 
begin 2 February, and continue around the clock until 
complete. Preliminary results, which will indicate only a 
percentage of votes garnered by the top three to four lists 
in each governorate, will be announced by the IHEC. 
Certified results are expected by 23 February.  The new 
provincial councils must be seated within 30 days of the 
certification. 
 
UN and IHEC Comments 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) SRSG deMistura and IHEC Commissioners held a joint 
press conference at 2000 local.  Both lauded security 
arrangements, and DeMistura congratulated IHEC for its 
professional conduct of the elections.  Earlier in the day, 
DeMistura, who visited polling stations in Najaf and Anbar, 
reportedly commented that "these elections are the most 
heavily observed in our modern history" given the high number 
of domestic and international observers.  Elsewhere, British 
Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Prentiss reportedly told the 
press, "I sense a great deal of enthusiasm and all the 
arrangements for the day seem to be going very well." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  Given all the moving parts and the variable security 
environment, the number of problems is not unusual; our 
initial assessment is that this appears to have been a 
successful election in terms of its mechanics.  Security was 
particularly good, and we await further word on turnout, 
which based on our (limited) anecdotal evidence appears to 
have been respectable in spite of isolated irregularities. 
Four hundred forty candidates will become members of 
provincial councils, but 14,000 will have failed.  Iraq is 
hardly a perfect democracy but this election certainly 
involved lots of competition and voters freely expressing 
their will. 
 
CROCKER